Draconic Strawhat
by SubZeroDragonSlayer
Summary: Luffy eats the Ryu-ryu no mi instead of the Gomu-Gomu no mi and is all in all, a complete badass. Let's see how this changes the story, shall we? OP!HAKI!ROKUSHIKI!OOC!Luffy. Larger crew (possibly). Rating for freedom to write whatevs I want.
1. Mystery Fruit! New Power!

_Hey everybody, __SubZeroDragonSlayer_ _here again with another One Piece fanfic that will hopefully keep you entertained while I work on my chapters for my other stories and finish those marathons, anywho, I've decided to take up my own story challenge and write my own version of my story challenge and write this piece of work up._

_Please review, favorite, or follow, it would help me a fuckton and show your support. *shuffles through papers and packets* Now I think that's it, I hope you enjoy the story, no flames please._

_Signing off,_

_SubZeroDragonSlayer_

* * *

(East Blue- Dawn Island)

All was quiet in the forest of Dawn Island as the full moon illuminated the night sky with a beautiful lunar glow with only the noise of crickets letting out the occasional chirp and the grumblings of a small child.

Wait. What?

"Stupid old man, throwing me into this stupid forest." Indeed, there was a small child who grumbled as he stomped through a forest with a frown on his face and his arms folded across his small chest.

He had hair as black as obsidian with onyx eyes that seemed to glitter under the light which was accompanied by the body of a 8 year old boy that was littered with scrapes and scratches and bruises and scars.

"'It'll definitely make you into a great Marine, Luffy.' Tch, yeah right. This is just plain insanity. Stupid grandpa." Luffy continued to grumbled as he made an impression of his grandpa with a scowl on his face and gingerly touched his small injuries.

Luffy continued on the path through the forest until he heard the bushes around him rustle with erratic movement for a moment that soon stopped as a pack of arctic white wolves that were a bit larger than any other wolf walked through the bushes with growls escaping their throats and their razor-sharp canine teeth seen as their mouths were parted in a ferocious snarl.

Luffy was frozen still as he looked nervously at the ravenous pack of wolves that surrounded him. As he ran through the choices he had, he decided that the safest bet was to run.

Sort of safe, at least.

Breaking into a sprint, Luffy started running deeper into the forest with the wolves close behind.

Luffy's pulse was hammering in his eardrums as adrenaline surged through his system and his lungs were rapidly filled and emptied of oxygen as his feet pounded against the solid earth in an attempt to get away from the wolves that were looking to make the boy their collective meal.

Luffy continued to sprint as fast as his tired legs could carry him as he continued to bob and weave through branches and hurdle over protruding roots using only the moonlight to see the path ahead of him including the obstructions.

Keeping his vision ahead, Luffy could vaguely see a clearing through the trees. Seeing that, Luffy almost thought of running into the clearing but immediately decided against it.

'_That kind of stuff always leads to some sort of dead-end.' _Luffy thought before he slammed his foot into the slightly damp earth and cutting into a sharp right, making some of the wolves pursuing him stumble into the clearing from their excess velocity.

Luffy could feel his pounding footsteps becoming slower as exhaustion began to creep onto him and his breaths becoming desperate gasps of breath in an attempt to bring more oxygen to his sore muscles.

The adrenaline began to slow its circulation through his system and his reaction time started to suffer as he was closer and closer to tripping over each root he hurdled and closer to getting clotheslined by low-hanging branches.

For a few minutes, Luffy managed to continue to keep from tripping or getting clotheslined until he stumbled and tripped over a stone, causing him to stumble head-over-heels for a few meters until his back crashed into a tree with his head smacking into it from the whiplash.

'_Ouch.'_ Luffy thought as pain throbbed in his head. He looked up and saw the wolves coming up on him, ready to devour him. '_Looks like this is it.' _Luffy thought and closed his eyes.

'_What the?' _Luffy thought as he felt something drop on him and roll off.

Peeling open his eyes, Luffy saw that there was a strange looking fruit that had a slight resemblance to a mango that was covered in a red, scale-patterned skin instead of normal fruit flesh.

Looking at the odd fruit, Luffy felt some sort of weird power from the fruit that he couldn't quite explain, but he felt that if he ate the fruit he would live to see another day.

So, without further ado, Luffy grabbed the fruit and devoured it quickly before the wolves pounced on him with hunger shining in their eyes their jaws unhinged and ready to chomp down on Luffy.

As he swallowed the fruit, Luffy felt himself go through multiple changes and power overflow his body.

Luffy felt his vision sharpen to pristine clarity, his hearing picking up the slightest panting of the wolves, his nose catch the scent of canine drool with hints of an iron-like scent, signifying blood within and finally, he felt a tail sprout from his spine with a pair of wings growing from his shoulder blades...?

'_A tail? Wings?'_ Luffy thought incredulously as he slowly glanced behind him before noticing that he had an exceptionally longer and muscular neck than before.

And also that he was a dragon.

Yep, a dragon.

In place of the 7-year-old Luffy was a large, magnificent, red dragon that had a length of 75 metres and an impressive wingspan of 100 metres. He had black horns at the base of his skull with another pair right above the first pair. His eyes changed color from an onyx shade to a crimson red with a vertical obsidian black slit in the middle, the dragon's tail ended in a diamond shaped scale with a sharp enough point to pierce steel with a little amount of force.

'_I-I'm a dragon.' _Luffy thought in shock, before he smirked ferociously down at the wolves that looked terrified. '_Which means they're my meal.'_ Luffy thought beastially as he roared in the wolves' faces before biting down on one with his now powerful jaws and eating it with vigor. '_Delicious. I want more.' _Luffy thought as his feral glare settled on the fleeing wolves before he lunged at them.

(Time skip)

Luffy groaned as his eyes fluttered open with a strange sense of fullness within him. '_That was one hell of a dream.' _ Luffy thought before he noticed remains of skeletons around him paired with blood-soaked earth.

"What the?" Luffy muttered before he coughed and some fur flew out of his mouth.

After a few moments of silence, Luffy managed to get out a statement. "So that must mean that I'm a dragon now." he muttered to himself. "Well at least half dragon, I guess." Luffy said before he remembered the fruit he ate. "That fruit must have caused this, that's the only reasonable explanation I can think of. I'll have to ask Grandpa about it later." Luffy said to himself.

"Ask me about what, brat?" a deep voice asked from behind him, causing Luffy to snap around and see the towering figure of his grandpa, Monkey D. Garp.

"G-Grandpa." Luffy stuttered before he had a large grin on his face. "I've got to ask you someth-" Luffy's statement was cut off by him coughing out more fur and a couple of feathers this time with a few stuck in his mouth.

There was a moment of silence that was interrupted by Luffy's exhale of air that blew out the remaining fur and feathers.

"What was it you wanted to ask me, Luffy?" Garp asked curiously, but hesitantly.

"Well, I ate this weird fruit that turned me into a dragon, and I wondered if you could explain anything if you know about it." Luffy said hopefully.

After a moment of thought, Garp grunted to himself as if in determination. "Alright, I'll tell you all that I know about your situation," Garp said making Luffy brighten up, "but, you'll have to train to a more intense regimen, understood?"

Luffy nodded in confirmation with determination in his eyes.

"Good, now that fruit you ate was something called a devil fruit, a devil fruit grants the person that ate the fruit a special power, but it takes away the ability to swim in water." Garp explained, causing Luffy to tilt his head.

"If the devil fruit gives the person a power, then what fruit did I eat?" Luffy asked curiously, making Garp scratch his beard.

"From what you said, it sounds like you ate a Mythical Zoan fruit, the **Ryū-Ryū no mi***, I'm not sure if there are multiple models or not, I'll have to look into that." Garp answered.

"Are there different types of devil fruits, Grandpa?" Luffy asked curiously.

"Yeah. Firstly, there are the Paramecia devil fruits, the paramecia fruits give the person a superhuman power, like levitation, blasting people away, or even sprouting body parts, these fruits are the most common." Garp explained.

Luffy's eyes widened slightly in amazement at the information. He wanted to meet other people who ate a devil fruit.

"Secondly, there the Zoan types, they, like you, allow the person to switch between three forms of the animal their fruit allows them to, such as a toad, or a dog these types are the second most common. But fruits like the one you ate are called Mythical Zoan fruits, and they're the rarest type of fruit to find, so you got lucky by even being able to find one out here." Garp said.

Luffy's eyes began to shine with excitement at the fact that he ate one of the rarest things ever.

"And then, there's the Logia devil fruits, these fruits give you control over a certain element and allow you to turn yourself into that element as well, making you invincible to normal attacks. These fruits are the second rarest, just behind Mythical Zoan fruits." Garp explained to Luffy

"What do you mean by normal attacks? What type of attacks would you need to hurt a Logia?" Luffy asked curiously.

"I was just about to explain that, so sit tight." Garp said as Luffy sat forward in rapt attention with anticipation.

"What I mean is that there is a way to attack logias and hurt them, but to do that, you need a special power called haki." Garp explained as he looked at Luffy,waiting for his reaction.

"What's haki?" Luffy asked curiously with a tilt to his head.

"To most people, haki is the weaponization of the spirit and someone's will." Garp explained. "There are three ways that haki can be used, two of which everyone is able to have."

Luffy started to smile widely in excitement at the concept of getting stronger.

"The first type is called **Kenbunshoku Haki**, this form of haki can allow you to sense and detect a person's presence even if they're hidden from sight. When this haki is mastered to a certain level, you'll be able to see your enemy's attack a moment before it happens."

"That sounds so cool." Luffy whispered in amazement.

"The next is **Busoshoku Haki**, this type is kinda like putting on invisible armor. This haki is the one that allows the user to break through logia defenses and attack their physical forms. There are two ways that this can be used, firstly it can be used mainly for defense that can blast back an enemy's attack back at them. The second way is mainly for offensive means, when it's used, it takes the appearance of solid black armor that's mostly like a second skin." Garp explained.

"Like how?" Luffy asked curiously.

"Like this." Garp said as he brought his fist up and clenched it, a solid black sheen covering it in an instant.

"Woah, that's cool." Luffy said with his mouth in an 'o' with amazement.

"The final form of haki is the only one that can't be trained. It's called **Haoshoku Haki**, this type of haki is found in every one out of a million people, so it's almost impossible to meet someone else that has it." Garp explained. "**Haoshoku Haki**, when used, basically uses your will as a weapon and sends it out as a shockwave, and anyone who is weaker than you is caught in that shockwave, their will will be crushed and broken by yours." Garp said.

"Woah." Luffy said silently, in amazement.

"Now then, Luffy, we will begin training for these tomorrow, understand?" Garp asked Luffy, who nodded in determination. "Alright, let's head home and get some rest."

"Yeah!" The young child exclaimed in excitement as he followed his grandpa back home.

* * *

Well hello there, this is the first chapter of Dragon-Dragon Luffy. I had decided to go ahead and try this out myself and wrote it up, I hope you like the first chapter of this story, don't forget to review, flames will be ignored, blah blah blah.

Until next time,

_SubZeroDragonSlayer_


	2. New Arrivals! Red-Haired Shanks

Hey there guys, it's me again. I hope you liked the first chapter of Draconic Strawhat. I know I did *chuckle*, anyway, here's the second chapter, hope you like, hope you review and follow, whatever you want, just no flames, please.

'Til next time,

_SubZeroDragonSlayer_

* * *

(2 years later)

It's been two years since Luffy had found, ate, and trained with his devil fruit and other techniques that his grandpa had told him to train for. His grandpa had also explained something called rokushiki that included six abilities: soru, rankyaku, tekkai, shigan, geppo, and kami-e.

Over his training, Luffy had gotten a lot better at controlling his transformations to the point that he wouldn't randomly grow his wings or tail, he also managed to get his fire breathing and flight under control pretty well, at least to the point where fire wasn't bursting out at every other word that the kid said and being able to stay in the air for more than half a minute.

All in all, Luffy had improved greatly for a child his age and is getting continuously better daily.

Today, however was a relaxing day for him, so he was with Makino at Partys Bar in the village just talking with her or just getting snacks once in a while, telling her to put it on his 'treasure tab', promising that he would pay it all back with the treasure he'd get during his future journeys.

As Luffy finished his meal and drank the rest of his juice, a villager had burst through the door in a panic and looked like he had just ran a mile.

"Makino, something's happening!" the villager shouted, immediately getting the barmaid's attention and Luffy's bewilderment.

"What is it? What's wrong?" Makino asked worriedly.

"It's pirates. They're approaching the docks." he said, making Makino gasp in fear and shock.

"Are you sure about that?" she asked, coming from behind the bar counter.

"We're absolutely sure." he said as Makino walked out of the bar in a hurry with the villager in tow.

Luffy began to follow before Makino turned around and held his shoulders. "Luffy, I need you to go upstairs and stay there until I come back and tell you to, ok?" she asked with a motherly tone, getting a bemused nod from the young child as she rushed out and towards the dock.

For a few silent moments, Luffy only stood and blinked in what seemed like confusion before he asked himself a very obvious question. "Can't I just turn into a dragon and scare them off?" he blinked in surprise and somewhat shock. "How did they not think of this but a 9 year old did? But the real question is whether I go out and scare them off or not." Luffy said, leaning side to side with his hand on his chin and humming thoughtfully.

'_If I go out there, Makino will be mad at me for not listening, if I don't the whole village is in danger.' _Luffy thought before he made his decision. '_I'll sneak close and watch, if it gets dangerous, then I'll intervene and scare them off. Ha ha! I'm so smart!'_ he thought victoriously, running out of the bar and towards the docks.

(scene skip)

Luffy was hiding behind some crates, eyes wide with awe as he watched the gigantic galleon slowly sail into port and dock with a loud drop of the anchor.

With a drop of the gangplank, a man with bright red hair stepped off of the ship and down onto the dock with three other men behind him.

"Pirates! What do you want from this village!?" Mayor Woop Slap questioned loudly.

"Hey, old timer calm down." the red-haired man said with an easy-going tone We just want some supplies to restock and a bar to wind down in." he assured with a smile.

This didn't seem to calm down Woop Slap though. "We won't let you steal anything from this village, you rotten pirates." he almost growled out in a dark tone.

"Oh, you don't need to worry about that, we'll pay fo-." the red-haired pirate would've finished if not for an oddly curious voice.

"Are you guys really pirates?"

Silence reigned for a few moments before everybody looked down and saw a child between Makino and Woop Slap, looking up at the red-haired man with his head tilted to the left in curiosity.

"Luffy! I thought I told you to stay at the bar!" Makino exclaimed in worry.

"Now who's this little guy?" the red-headed pirate asked, leaning down and rubbing Luffy's head.

"Who the hell do you think you are? I'm not little!" Luffy snapped, his attitude taking an instant 180 at being called little and shaking off the pirate's hand off his head.

"Ooh! He's a bit feisty ain't he?" the man asked with a smile and a chuckle, standing to his full height.

"Who the hell are you anyway?" Luffy asked with a scowl, shocking the whole village while the man only laughed uproariously.

"I like this kid!" he exclaimed with a grin before turning to Woop Slap and Makino. "Before we do anything else though, could we know where the bar is, my crew's tired and we all just want to relax for a bit."

"A-Alright, right this way, please." Makino stuttered in nervousness before leading the crew and Luffy to the bar.

(scene skip - Party Bar)

Luffy was sitting at the bar with the red-haired man who had just guzzled down a mug of ale and turned to him.

"My name is Shanks, I'm a pirate." Shanks said with a proud grin. "What's your name, kid?"

"I'm Luffy." Luffy responded, before looking at Shanks then to his crew for a moment. "You're really pirates, huh?" Luffy asked with a raised brow.

"Of course we are, why wouldn't we be?" Shanks asked curiously.

"You don't seem as evil as my Gramps always told me pirates were." Luffy explained.

"Well, you see Luffy, all pirates aren't evil, just like all Marines aren't good. There are good pirates and evil Marines in the world." Shanks explained, making Luffy nod in understanding.

"So, there are Marines who are lying, cheating, bastards?" Luffy asked innocently.

"Yeah, they're in a lot of places, even here in the East Blue." Shanks said answered.

"That's actually a bit surprising to me." Luffy said.

"Why's that?" Shanks asked.

"Because with the way my Grandpa always talks about the Marines, it seemed like they were what everyone wanted to be." Luffy explained before grinning. "But it doesn't matter either way, 'cause I wanna be a pirate!" he said with a large grin.

"Hoh? You sure about that?" Shanks asked with a slight teasing in his tone.

"Of course I am!" Luffy exclaimed before he frowned. "What? You saying I'm not good enough to be a pirate?" Luffy asked before his frown turned into a smirk. "But if a drunk like you could do it, I'm pretty sure I can pull it off without a hitch."

"Heh, you're at least a hundred years too early to think you can match up to me, Luffy." Shanks retorted with a smirk.

"I could be a better pirate than you anyday, tomato hair." Luffy said with a chuckle, catching the attention of the whole bar that was silent for a few moments before they all erupted in hysterical laughter.

"I do not have tomato hair!" Shanks shouted back, over the laughter of his crew.

"Oh really? With hair like that, I'd think that you came out of a vegetable patch." Luffy teased.

"Tch. You're too quick-witted for a kid your age." Shanks muttered into his pint of ale.

"Don't worry about it, Shanks-san. You tend to get used to it after time." Makino said, sliding him and Luffy some food.

"Hey, Shanks?" Luffy asked.

"Yeah, Luffy?"

"How long are you gonna stay here?"

"I'm not sure, honestly. Maybe a year or so, then we'll have to leave." Shanks said after a moment of thought.

"Then I'll just have to prove I can take you on before then, tomato hair." Luffy said with a smirk.

"Ha! Even then, you'd still be a century too early!" Shanks said with a grin before it fell. "I do NOT have tomato hair!" he shouted as the young child continued to laugh jovially with his crew at his expense.

* * *

And there! I hope this isn't rushed, because it feels rushed to me, so sorry if it is. Anywho, if my timing is right, this chapter should be put up with a notice for Dracule D. Luffy, and a new chapter for Monster Trio Time-travellers and Sub-Zero Strawhat.

ALSO! (**Note: This is important to the path that Ice Dragon's Disciple will take in the future, so read this!**) I HAVE A POLL ON MY PROFILE ABOUT ICE DRAGON'S DISCIPLE! PLEASE VOTE ON IT!

Signing off,

_SubZeroDragonSlayer_


	3. Damn Bandits! New Promise Forged!

Hey guys, what's up, I'm back with a new chapter of Draconic Strawhat that I hope you'll enjoy and love.

Anywho, please drop a fav and follow and maybe a review, but no flames please.

By the way, Luffy will be Ace's age in this fic if you were curious at all.

Signing off,

_SubZeroDragonSlayer_

* * *

(A year later)

"Luffy what do you think you're doing up there?" Shanks loudly questioned to the 10 year old child that was standing on his ship's figurehead.

"I'm gonna make everyone take me seriously around here!" Luffy exclaimed with a furrowed brow.

"Oh? And how will you do that?" Shanks asked curiously with a joking tone that heavily annoyed the young child.

Luffy's eyebrow twitched in annoyance and he raised his hand and curled his fingers slightly inward.

"I'll show you." he said before his arm turned red and scaly with obsidian black claws protruding from his fingers, shocking the pirates.

Before Shanks could shout at the child, Luffy had already dragged his claws across his face, cutting deep into his flesh and creating deep scars across his face and left eye.

"GAHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Luffy's painful scream echoed throughout the village, making them all turn to the pirate ship with worried looks.

"LUFFY! YOU DAMN IDIOT, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" almost immediately afterward, Shanks' angered and worried voice boomed out.

(scene skip)

Luffy was sitting at the bar with Shanks sitting next to him. Normally, you'd expect the small child to be in tears from the pain, however, Luffy was no normal child.

Luffy, instead of having bandages covering about half of his face, he already had deep scars where he had carved into his face.

"Luffy, you know we could've just sewn your cuts closed, right?" Shanks asked the slightly scowling child.

"Of course I do, I just wanted to show that I wasn't afraid of pain." Luffy said, idly carving a jolly roger into the bar counter.

Shanks was going to retort before he noticed what Luffy was doing and leaned over. "Whatcha carving there, Luffy?"

Luffy looked up at Shanks with a large smile. "This is what my jolly roger is gonna look like when I've got my own pirate crew."

"Is that so, Luffy?" Shanks asked curiously, receiving a nod in response. He then smirked mischievously. "Well how the hell are you gonna be a pirate if you can't even swim?"

Luffy's brow twitched with annoyance at that. "Well I'll just stay outta the water, you damn drunk!" Luffy shot back, only making Shanks laugh boisterously.

Luffy would've continued on if he and Shanks weren't smacked upside the head. Looking up, they saw Makino with a smile on her face and a dark aura around her. "What did you just say, Luffy?" she asked with a sweet tone.

"U-ummmmm," Luffy stuttered before looking at Shanks and getting the greatest plan ever. "I don't know, I've only heard Shanks use it around me." he said with the most innocence he could produce at the moment.

The look on Shanks' face was one of comic betrayal and shock but turned to fear as Makino turned to him with a glare. "N-now, now Makino, let's not be rash." he pleaded, holding his hands in front of him.

The barmaid simply narrowed her eyes and looked to say something when the door was slammed open by a man with tanned skin, black hair, an x-shaped scar above his right eye, a goatee and a long coat reaching his ankles.

Behind the man was a group of people all wearing white shirts, trousers and turbans on their heads with sabers strapped on their waists with red sashes.

The man in front had an air of arrogance and confidence about him as he walked right up to the bar counter with a smirk on his face.

"So these are pirates? They all seem pretty damn week to me." the man in front said, glancing around at the pirates presence before slapping his hand on the bar. "Wench, grab me and my men here 10 barrels of your alcohol and make it quick." he said with blatant disrespect.

Hearing the man's tone, Luffy quietly growled and clenched his fist, annoyance rising in him.

"I'm very sorry, but these other gentlemen already finished off my alcohol stock and I won't be getting another shipment for a whole week." Makino explained with a false apologetic tone, discreetly reaching under the bar counter.

"I'm sorry my crew and I drank all of the alcohol," Shanks said holding an unopened bottle of sake. "You can have this one, it's unopened." he offered with a smile.

The man's brow twitched in annoyance and his eye's narrowed in anger. "You think one measly bottle will satisfy us?" he questioned before shattering the bottle with his sword. "Who the hell do you think I am?" he asked angrily.

"Now look at what you did, the floor's all wet." Shanks said, bending down. "Makino, could you get me a rag to clean this?" he asked politely.

"Sure, just give me a second." Makino said, about to grab a rag when she heard a loud smash and the sound of shattering glass.

Now on the floor, Shanks was soaked and had food on the ground around him while the rugged man stood above him with an angry look in his eyes.

"Tch. Seems you need to be educated, you dumbass pirate." he almost growled, pulling out a bounty paper with his face on it. "Can you read this? It says, 'Higuma the Bear, wanted dead or alive for 8,000,000 beris.' This means I'm a dangerous criminal, so you should be treating me with respect." Higuma said, putting his bounty poster away. "We'll be back again, and I don't want to see you weaklings here again." Higuma said with a chuckle, his men following him out.

"Shanks, are you okay?" Makino asked worriedly, kneeling beside him.

"Don't worry about it Makino, I'm alright." he said, placing a hand on his hat before he began laughing, with his crew following soon after.

"Captain looked so silly!"

"He sure did!"

While the others were laughing in good humor, Luffy wasn't.

Now, the young child wasn't mad at Shanks or the rest for treating what had happened as a joke, he was mad at the bandits from before for disrespecting his idol and family.

"Hey, Luffy, why don't you get that scowl off your face. It's nothing to worry over too much." Shanks said with a large smile.

"I know it isn't, it just ticks me off so much." Luffy said, his frown deepening before he noticed a sour smell coming from a small chest near him. "Hey Shanks, what's in that chest?" He questioned, immediately getting the older man's attention. "It smells like burning rubber." he said, pinching his nose in disgust.

"Oh, thanks for reminding me, Luffy." Shanks said, reaching over and grabbing the box. "Hey, Roo!" He exclaimed and one of his crewmen walked up to him.

"What's up, cap'n?" The man asked, eating a large piece of meat.

"Could you take this back to the ship real quick for me?" Shanks asked.

"No problem, Cap'n." Lucky Roo said, grabbing the box and heading to the docks.

"What was that, Shanks?" Luffy questioned, looking at the red-haired man.

"That was a devil fruit, Luffy. That actually brings me to my next question." Shanks said. "What fruit did you eat to make you grow claws?" He asked Luffy.

"I ate the **Ryū-Ryū no mi** about three years ago." Luffy explained.

"Are you talking about, like a Komodo Dragon or an actual, fire-breathing dragon?" Shanks asked the child.

"An actual, fire-breathing dragon." Luffy said, shocking the red-haired man.

"Never thought that you'd even see a mythical zoan fruit in the East Blue, they're super rare." Shanks said, taking a sip of his ale.

"So Shanks," Luffy said, getting a hum from the man next to him, "can I come along on your next journey?"

Shanks let out a deep, thoughtful hum. "Maybe," he said, making the child grin widely, making him smirk. "Only if you beat me in a fair duel." Shanks said.

"Then fight me! Right here, right now!" Luffy exclaimed, already standing on his stool with his fists up and clenched tightly with a large grin on his face.

"Not now, Luffy, I'm tired." Shanks said before promptly slamming his head on the bar, shocking Luffy.

"Seriously!?" the young boy exclaimed, then soon hearing snores coming from the red-haired pirate. Luffy clicked his tongue in annoyance and sat back down with a frown on his face. "Stupid frickin' tomato-head." he muttered in annoyance.

"Not….tomato-head." Shanks grumbled in his sleep, making Luffy snicker.

"Whatever." he said with a smile, grabbing Shanks' leftover plate and began eating the rest of his meal.

(scene skip)

Shanks and his crew had been gone for about two weeks now, and in that time, Luffy had been training in his downtime, or even volunteered to help Makino out in the bar sometimes. Right now, he was sitting at the counter in the bar with a plate of food in front of him and a glass of water with it.

"Thanks again for the food, Makino." Luffy said, grinning up at the woman.

"Don't worry about it at all, Luffy. You've been helping me out here so much it's like this place runs itself." Makino said with a large smile.

Looking around the empty bar, Luffy slightly sulked with a frown.

Gaining a concerned look, Makino leaned down to the child's eye level, resting her arms on the bar. "You miss them, huh?" she questioned the boy.

"Yeah, I just wish they brought me along with them." he said with a sad tone.

"Try to look at it from their point of view, Luffy. You're still a kid and the open sea is a dangerous place. They're only looking out for you." Makino said, placing a comforting hand on Luffy's shoulder.

"I guess so, doesn't mean I have to like it, though." Luffy said with a pout at the end.

"If you say so, Luffy." Makino said before smiling widely. "Anyway, it's almost time for lunch rush hour, so I'm gonna need your help again, Luffy." She told him, clapping her hands together.

"Alright, Makino!" Luffy exclaimed with a small grin that instantly dropped as the door was slammed open by none other than Higuma the Bear, making the child scowl in annoyance.

"Hello, how can I help you today?" Makino asked with a fake air of friendliness.

Sitting down at a table and placing his feet on a table, he smirked arrogantly. "Get my men and I alcohol, and lots of it." He said, or demanded, hard to tell.

As Makino left and got the men their alcohol, the bandits began speaking Ill of Shanks and his crew, making Luffy slowly clench his fist tighter before scales began slowly travelling up his limbs and his fingernails extended to sharp claws as black as night.

"Heh, I guess it's good that those pirates left. They finally realized how truly pathetic they are, especially compared to us." Higuma said with a rancid air of arrogance about him, making Luffy growl audibly in anger, drawing attention to himself.

"You have no right to talk about them like that." He silently ground out, making the bandits confused.

Since Luffy was facing away from the bandits, they didn't notice that his arms and legs were now covered in scales and his nails were now dark black claws carving into the wooden counter.

"The hell did you say, brat?" Higuma questioned with annoyance in his tone.

"I said," Luffy growled before turning around, shocking the bandits with his golden eyes and draconic limbs, "you have no right to talk about Shanks and his crew like that!" He exclaimed, his golden reptilian eyes glowing with anger directed at the bandits.

"And what makes you say that?" The bandit questioned.

"You're all nothing but a bunch of drunks that don't know anything about Shanks." Luffy said with a glare focused on Higuma.

Returning with a glare of his own, Higuma stood and drew his sword, pointing it at Luffy. "I don't care if you have a devil fruit, brat. Either way, you're still a kid who shouldn't be pokin' his nose into other people's business, just like those weak pirates tried to do." He said with a scowl on his face.

Launching forward with a surprising amount of speed, Luffy punched at Higuma's gut with his scaled fist.

Barely having time to react, the bandit tried to block the strike with his sword, only to have it be shattered by Luffy's punch that soon made forceful contact with his stomach, making Higuma cough out spittle and throwing him out of the bar doors, making him tumble in the street.

By now, Higuma's lackeys had all fled the bar towards the mountain in fear of the demon child that they had angered.

Running out after Higuma, Luffy practically pounced outside and landed on the bandit, his claws nearing his throat with his hand holding the bandit down with a feral glare pointed at the terrified man below him.

Rearing his hand back, Luffy was going to strike forward when he felt a strong grip on his shoulder, making him stop. Looking to punish whoever stopped him, he snapped around with a snarl, stopping as he saw a concerned and worried Shanks looking down at him with a frown.

"S-Shanks." the boy muttered as the bandit below him fainted in either fear or relief, it will never be known, Luffy's transformation dropped as his eyes watered before he was picked up by Shanks and held close which made him start full on bawling into the red-haired man's shoulder, repeatedly muttering tear-stricken apologies and explanations that were interrupted by hiccups or were just incoherent.

"It's alright, Luffy. You did good." Shanks quietly told Luffy, rubbing the child's head in comfort with a small but proud smile on his face. "Let's get you some rest, huh? You must be pretty exhausted." Shanks said, getting a small nod and a tear-stricken look that he instantly understood. "We'll talk more about it tomorrow, Luffy."

Luffy could only nod once again in response as he nodded off to sleep, still tightly gripping at Shanks' shirt as his vision faded to darkness.

(scene skip)

Luffy blearily blinked his eyes open as a small yawn escaped his mouth, he looked around and saw that he was in a room he often slept in when he worked at the inn.

His ears perked up as he barely caught a piece of a muffled conversation. He got out of the bed and slowly walked towards the door, slowly opening it and tip-toeing to the hallway where he heard the conversation more clearly.

"...take him with you?" he heard Makino's questioning voice, slightly raising his hope.

'_Maybe Shanks is gonna take me with him.'_ He thought with a slight smile.

"I'm sure, Makino." Shanks' voice sounded out next, though there was a hint of regret in his voice. "I'd take the kid in a heartbeat if it wasn't for Garp."

'_What does gramps have to do with this?'_ he thought in confusion.

"If Garp came back only to find his grandson missing, you know he'd be hot on our tail and I'd rather keep Luffy out of that stress." Shanks reasoned.

The downstairs was silent until Luffy heard Shanks' voice once more. "I know you're there, Luffy." he said, slightly shocking the child. "Come on down, buddy."

Luffy slowly walked down the steps and saw Shanks sitting at the bar with Makino on the other side while the rest of the bar was shockingly empty.

"Where's everyone else?" Luffy questioned.

"They're preparing the ship to leave." Shanks answered, making Luffy's mood slightly fall.

"So you're leaving?" he asked, getting a nod in return. Instead of feeling sad like he thought he would, Luffy accepted it and even smiled. "I hope you're ready for our future fight, then." he said, confusing Shanks. "'Cause when you see me again, I'm gonna beat you as the pirate king!" he exclaimed with a wide grin.

"So that means you're gonna get a crew better than mine, eh?" Shanks asked, getting an excited nod from the child. "Well," he said, reaching up and taking his old straw hat off of his head, "take this as a sign of our promise." Shanks placed his hat gently on top of Luffy's head, shocking the youth. "This hat is a very dear treasure of mine, so take good care of it, will ya?" he asked Luffy, taking his hand off of Luffy's head and making his way out of the bar. "I'll see you on the Grand Line someday, Luffy. And when I do, I ain't holdin' back." he said with a smirk, waving his hand in farewell.

Luffy stayed silent as tears began streaming down his face and he clutched the brim of the straw hat tightly.

'_Shanks.'_ the boy thought, wiping the tears off of his face and grinning. '_I'll definitely become pirate king and surpass you!'_ he thought with confidence as he ran out of the bar.

"Luffy, where are you going?" Makino asked him in confusion.

Turning to the woman, Luffy simply smiled and answered in a happy tone. "I'm gonna start training for when I see Shanks again!"

The answer left Makino smiling in the boy's direction as he ran out of the bar and to the forest, ready to continuously get stronger.

* * *

I'm sorry that this and many other updates took so long to get out, but I'm glad you all are patient enough with me to deal with it.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, there is more to come, I'm just not sure when and that sucks.

After this goes up, Monster Trio Time-Travelers should also be updated. If not, then I'm a dumbass and I hate myself and my computer.

Signing off,

_SubZeroDragonSlayer_


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